Krakow surgeons perform first live kidney transplant in region

Doctors at the Jagiellonian University Hospital in Krakow have performed the first successful kidney transplant from a live donor in the Lesser Poland region.

The operation was completed on July 10th under the direction of department head Dr. Piotr Richter, overseeing a team of surgeons, nephrologists, urologists, transplantologists, and anesthesiologists. Nine other donation pairs are still planned.

Most donated kidneys in Poland come from deceased donors – last year, the university hospital conducted 28 such operations. However, those from live donors tend to last longer, and for this reason the Polish Ministry of Health decided in 2017 to allocate nearly two million PLN for the development of live kidney donation services to catch up to the availability they enjoy in some other European countries.